Process for the dehydration of moisture-containing compounds



July 11, 1939... H. F. wn.|.K|E er AL. 2,165,950

rnocnss son nm DEHYDRAT'ION op Mors'rua-comrA-mue comromws Filed Feb. 25. 193s lage/"9 3 y H [4 We? Grain '5 Gram v V 1 /I @mi g /Vz'xer ,'2 .l r L6 l Jecpn'd 7 19 /VaZ'er' INVENTORS Herman E Wiukj Blair* 5'. Elm" uff ATTQRN EYS Patented July 1 1, 1939 UNITED s'rATEs PATENT orrlca I I ronisaonrnaa'rroiv or j lll., assig'nors to Hiram .Walker at' Sons, Inc., Peoria, Ill.," a corporation of Michigan apuestan 25.1935, serai Ne. n.202

This invention relates the dehydration of 4 moisture-containing compoundsof`l matter as, for example, the treatment of distillery beer slops or spent beer for the removal-of most -of their s water content so that the residue may be em- Dloyed for various purposes, such as usedfor feed and/or fertilizer. =r

The principal object of the invention'is to pro. vide a process for the dehydration of moisture-l containing compounds of matter, which process extracts much oi the moisture contents by relatively inexpensive mechanical-steps prior to the :nal and generally more expensive evaporative step. v

v Another object is to provide a processes abo whereby a larger volume ofmoisture is efficiently the liquid in the early steps of the process, thus relieving work falling upon pumps -or the like 'which may be employed in carrying out .the later steps. l

Another object of the invention, related to the last named object, is to extract much of the liquid in the early steps of the process so that smaller conduits, conveyors. and the like, as well 'as less bulky apparatus, may be employed, if desired,

in the later steps of the Process.

Yet another important object is to provide dehydrative steps, prior to the final evaporative step, which will obviate -or reduce the fouling of dryer tubes.

Another object of great importance is the provision of a process which will extract the finer materials, the gelatinous material, the material in a colloidal state, and similar materials dimcult to separate from the liquids.

Still another object, related to the last, is to provide a process whereby these difficult-to-separate substances are removed without the necessity of recentrifuging, although recentrifuging had been thought necessary and so taught in y the past. y

, A further object is to.provide a process for the purpose stated which requires no settling steps whatever.

Another object is to provide such a process which contains no step that is yapt to slow up a subsequent step in the process, but the steps are so coordinated that a rapid production of the finishedY product is assured.

Other objects and advantages of this invenf tion will be apparent during the course of the following detailed description of the invention .5 taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification and which drawing is a flow-sheetor diagrammatic representation of the steps in the process.'

While the novel process herein described may z1.0 be applied to the treatment of various moisturecontaining compositions of matter such as,l for example, cannery wastes, garbage, and packing a suitable Screener i, a common step in the art, 25

screenings or generally watery, coarse solids are yielded, containing substantially 80% by weight liquid and 20% by weight solids, while the other product of the screener I is a thin slop containing substantially 96 to 97% by weight liquid and 30 3 to 4% (generally substantially 3.4%) by weight solids.

. Standard practice has been to put' the wet screenings or watery coarse solids through various extracting devices and lower the liquid con` "35' tent from substantially 80% by weight to about by weight.

However, in the new process herein disclosed, the wet screenings are passed through a highpressure press, known as a dehydrator 2, wherein 4Q the liquid content is lowered from substantially parts by weight to substantially 57 parts by weight. In other words, by this step, the weight of liquid is lowered from substantially 467,000 pounds per day, as in standard practice, to vsub- 45 stantially 265,000 pounds per day. The pressedout and drain liquids (substantially 23 parts by weight and containing valuable solids and matter in a colloidal state), may be drawn off, as by the valve 3, or allor a portion may be conducted, 50

as-at 4, to the thin slop line 5, where it and the thin slop may run together and empty into a centrifuge 6 for further treatment.

According to the older or standard practice,v

the thin slop after a short settling step if thought u desirable, was passed to multiple-effect evaporae tors where the material was evaporated up to substantially 17% by weight solids but it was found possible ultimately, to concentrate the thin` slop to as much as 75% by weight solids if the suspended solids were first removed' from the thin slop. Filtration was found; possible, but"v centrifuging in preferably a basket-type extractor, which is also commonly termed a centrifuge f 6, was more feasible. l

In the older or standard processes, the use of centrifuges was known but these werel employed for removing the coarse solids fromthe distillery wastes and left much of the finer grained and gelatinous materials in the discharged-liquids, so that it was impossible to evaporate such a liquid to substantially.50% by weight'solids and have it retain its food value. Furthermore,v the solids discharged from the centrifuge to'which was added whole unscreened slop, contained 'considerable moisture when attempts were made to express the water from it, the greater'portionof the gelatinous material which was present in the mass was squeezed out with'the liquid thus making it necessary to recentrifuge. i

The thinslopofthenew processherein disclosed, even containing a portion or all. of the pressed out liquid (substantially all water) referred to, may be readily concentrated to a sludge containing substantially 20%` by weight solids and 80% by weight liquid, while the claried liquid or Aslop which contain substantially 2.8% byfweight of valuable solids is conducted as at yl to preferably a multiple-effect evaporator 8 where the clarified liquid or slop is converted into a syrup'which has a solid content oi substantially 50% by; weight and this may be increased, by careful'operation, to or 'even 75% by Weight solids. The evaporator is adapted to reduce the weightof the clarified liquid, in producing the syrup, to a syrup of substantially 5.5% by weight and distilled Water of substantially 94.5% by weight. Thus, comparing the syrups of the `older or standand processes, which syrups may contain 17 to possibly 25% by weight solids, and -75 to y83% by Weight liquid, the 'new process produces a syrup containing at least 50%, and up to 75%, by weight solids. Expressing the differences in pounds, the older processes leave in the syrup substantially 1,063,000 pounds liquid against 177,000 pounds liquid whenthe syrup is processed according to the present disclosed method, or a reduction of liquid content of substantially 886,000. pounds.

The water which may bedistilled in the evaporator 8 is slightly over 97% by Weight of the total liquid weight of the clarified liquid'introduced into the evaporator 8. As an example, if the total Weight of the clarified liquid is 6,435,000 pounds, of which 177,000 .pounds are solids and 6,258,000 pounds liquid, by the expenditure of substantially 2,310,000 pounds steam in the evaporator, Athe result will be substantially 354,000 pounds syrup containing 177,000 pounds solids and 177,000 pounds liquid, the balance of the liquid, i. e., 6,081,000 pounds water being distilled,`

and may be drawn oi as at 9.

The syrup produced by this novel process has qualities not found in the old process syrup above `j the increased concentration of the new product. There is none of the bacterial souring characteristic of old process syrup, the new syrup having a better odor, is `morestable and While concentrated beyondnthe concentration of the older processed syrup,y is really easier to handle.

The syrup may be drawn oif vratorl laszby the valve I0.

from the -evapo' i ,-,It is `important to note that, .whereas from i 3 to 4 `water may be evaporated at the' 'jexpendlturef of 'one pound steam in the multiple y'effect evaporatoryin the early step of the new 1 process, 'the rotary steam driers of the standard orolder processes required labout 1% pounds steam in order -to evaporate substantially one 'pound water from wet grain.

Referring 'again to tlieproduct of lthe `dehy-l is drawn off at 3,'wet grain or coarse solids residue y is'` produced which contain'substantially` `57%11by Weight yliquid and 4,3% .by weightsolids; Thisf .wet grain or coarse solids residue fis' *suitably conducted, as at I I, to a mixer l2.into=which may also empty the sludge,l containing the suspended solids removed from the thin slop, at syrupA as at Il, and a drygrain :conductor vI 5:

'.It has been vdiscovered that thesludge mustY be added in small pieces-tog: the` wetz grain' and thoroughlymixed so that no particles. of sludge l must be left in the mix. 1 Als furthe addition of -thedry- 'graimthis may be arecycled portion ofthe nal product, ifde- 'vsired,fand its addition converts the. mix into/a.

more uniform product `and vit ydries much easier.

Preferably, the mixer i2, which may/be termed the first mixer-,is of the type having sludge feed-' dratorL 2, in addition tothe.. liquid content which` The mix mim the first mixes lz,- withbf withr vout the `addition of the syrup, isl preferably next conveyed, as at, i6, to `a second mixer Ilv wherev it-is further homogenized and rendered fluffy. this being preferably carried out in the second mixer where there is but the one inilowing material.

1 .By the time the mix is thoroughlyhcmogenized i and fluifed in the mixerv l1, it may represent from 40 to 45% (substantially 41.8% in most cases) by weight solids, minus recycled dryy grain or the like, or, substantially 49% by A, weight solids when the drygrain has been'added. Consequently, the liquid content-is substantially from 51 to 58.2% by weight.

Referring, at this point, to the weight of. solids and liquid in the product introduced intoy the nrst of the vtwo driers usuallyemployed in the older or` lconventional processes, the product is made up of substantially 30% by weight solids and 70% by weight moisture, and whenintrobe said .tof

duced into the second ofthe driers of the older or conventional processes, substantially 63% 'by weightvof this moisture had been driven oif 4by the expenditure yof steam. conventional processes called for` the feeding of the syrup (containing substantially l17% by v,weight solids and consequently substantially 83% by weight water) into the 'feed line between the first and second driers,'the second drier "was required to remove substantially 70% by weight moisture so as toA provide a final product con-` taining substantially 7% by weight moisture. This high moisture removal was usuallycarried Since the older or'- on by the employment of a large volume of steam or'similar medium is effected in the new process -herein disclosed. These several facts may be aptly presented in the following summary:

Standard proc- New process,

asses, `pounds pounds Water removed in evaporators 5, 153, 000 6, 081, 000 Water removed in driers l, 499, 000 571, 000 Total water removed 6, 652, 000 6, 652, 000 Steam consumed in evsporators.- 1, 950, 000 2, 310, 000 Steam consumed in driers. l, 499, 000 000 Total steam consumed 3, 449, m0 2, 881, 000 Steam savings per day 568, 000

By the treatment ofthe thin slop, and the subsequent treatment of the clarified liquid as set out in this specification, and the feeding of the syrup produced into the first mixer I2, rather than the treatment of the thin slop to produce, in the'next step, a syrup, as in standard prac,- tice, and the feeding of this syrup to the driers, the new process requires but one pound water to be evaporated from the syrup in'the rotary Asteam drier so as to recover one pound solids,

as against the evaporation of ve pounds water for the recovery of one pound solids of syrup made by the standard processes.

Not only is there this economy in the use of steam possible by the utilization of the new process, but it is found that the great difliculties usually encountered from the coating and clogging of th'e tubes of .the rotary steam driers is obviated in the new process, which feeds the cornposition of matter to the drier I9 with its liquid content materially reduced by the prior steps, insuring that the drier tubes remain clean. 'Therefore, it is not necessary to suspend operations in order to clean out these tubes, when employing this new process.

Since the syrup produced and set out has important uses in addition to its use as a portion of the final product herein described, the steps in its production are detailed and claimed in a co-pending application bearing Serial Number 8,201, filed February 25, 1935. It is apparent that in the production of the final product obtained by the steps herein disclosed, the steps need not include thev production of the syrup itself, since the syrup may be obtained under the process covered by the co-pending application and utilized in the production of the nal product obtained by the subsequent steps herein disclosed. In fact, in -applying the process herein disclosed to the dehydration of other waste products, such as cannery wastes, while a syrup of the general character of distillers syrups might be obtained, such wastes would ordinarily yield: the watery coarse solids, thin slop, sludge, coarse solids residue and, ultimately, when properly mixed and dried as set out, a final product of the nature herein disclosed.

Various changes may be made to the form of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is: y

1. The process of dehydrating distillery beer slops, which consists in separating said slops into screenings and thin slop, extracting substantially 23% byweight liquidl from said screenings and leaving a wet-grain residue c'ontaiuing substantially 43% by weight solids, adding said liquid and said thin slop one to the other, centrifuging said added liquid and thin slop into a sludge, containing substantially by weight solids, and a claried slop, evapcrating said clarified slop' to a syrup containing substantially 50% by weight solids, adding said wet-grain residue, t sludge and syrup together, said sludge being added lin small' pieces only, mixing said wet-grain residue, sludge and syrup until said mixture is in a fluffy condition, and drying said mix.

2. A quick cycle process for, the treatment of wastes` from distilleries and the like ordinarily called distillery slop, which consists in an initial step of screening the distillery slop to provide wet solid screenings and a thin slop having therein fine solids in suspension, secondseparating said screenings into a wet grain solid and extracted water, mixing at least a portion o f the extracted water with the thin slop of the initial' separation step, centrifugally treating the said thin slop and added .water to provide a sludge and a clarified lliquid, mixing the sludge with the wet grain solid, subjecting the clarified liquid to an evaporation treatment for the evaporation of water therefrom and to provide a residue vsyrup portion, adding at leastV a portion of said syrup portionfto the wet grain solid and sludge in the mixing step aforesaid, subjecting the resultant mixture to a second mixing treatment for rendering it homogeneous and fluffy, and drying the resultant mixture.

. 3. A quick cycle process for the treatment of wastes from distilleries and the like ordinarily called distillery slop which consists in an initial step of screening the distillery slop to provide wet solid screenings and a thin slop having therein fine solids in suspension, second, separating said screenings into a wet grain solid and extracted water, mixing at least a portion of the extracted water with the thin slop, centrifugally treating the said thin slop and added waterto provide a sludge and a clarified liquid, mixing the sludge with the wet grain solid, subjecting the clarified liquid to an evaporation treatment for the evaporation of water therefrom and to provide a residue syrup portion, adding at least a portion of said syrup portion to the wet grain solid and sludge in the mixing step aforesaid, subjecting the resultant mixture to a second mixing treatment for rendering it homogeneous and fluffy, drying the resultant mixture, and adding at least a portionA of the dried product together .with the wet grain solid,jsludge, and syrup in the sludge and wet grain solid mixing step above mentioned. v

HERMAN F. WILLKIE. CLAIR S. BORUFF. 

